Saw this beauty, and was lucky enough to get a quick pic. Unfortunately, the tip of the abdomen is cut off in the shot, and this was the only one I could get before it zipped away. Anyone have any ideas?

Very long black legs, apparent large size, greater amount of yellow on side of S8 than S9, apparent wide black shoulder stripe, abdomen curled down at end, and small head relative to thorax - all field marks that make this a male Dragonhunter (Hagenius brevistylus). Always nice to see!

Thanks for the ID, Nick! I got really into odes a few years back, and then got sidetracked for quite a while and promptly forgot a WHOLE lot. Usually, I can remember a lot of the most common ones I saw around my old place pretty frequently, and think I can at least ID to family (just dragonflies...never got good with damsels!) pretty well on sight. I really need to brush up. My best friend is coming up this week, and we're planning on hitting several state parks, as well as the Smokies, so hopefully I can get some new halfway decent insect shots posted!

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